The present application relates to a memory element that includes a magnetic layer having magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to a film face, and a memory having the memory element.
In an information device such as a computer, a highly dense DRAM that operates at a high speed has been widely used as a random access memory. However, the DRAM is a volatile memory in which information is erased when power is turned off, such that a non-volatile memory in which the information is not erased is desirable. As a candidate for the non-volatile memory, a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) in which the information is recorded by magnetization of a magnetic material has attracted attention and therefore has been developed.
As a method of performing a recording of an MRAM, a method of inverting magnetization using a current magnetic field, or a method of causing a magnetization inversion by directly injecting an electron that is spin-polarized into a recording layer (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-193595) may be exemplified. Among these, spin injection magnetization inversion, which can make a write current small as a memory element size decreases, has attracted attention. In addition, a method of using a perpendicular magnetization film in which a magnetization direction of a magnetic material faces a perpendicular direction, for the miniaturization of a memory element, has been studied (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-81215). In addition, a method of performing highly dense recording using migration of a magnetic domain wall has been devised (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-98245).